Cap

ABSTRACT

A toque-type cap that is made substantially from a nonstretch material as distinct from a stretch rib-knit material. The cap has main panels that are of a nonstretch material but strips of stretch material are interposed between them to give the cap the characteristic of fitting all size heads. The main panels and the stretch strips are separately formed, sewn together in a tubelike construction, turned inside out to locate the sewing seams on the inside and closed to form a hat. The hat has the advantage of snugly fitting all size heads as a result of the action of the stretch strips, but also the advantage of being waterproof as a result of the nonstretch characteristic of the main panels.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Joseph Krystal 12 Sundale Gardens, Downsview, Ontario, Canada [21] Appl. No. 822,932 [22] Filed May 8, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 7, 1971 [54] CAP 1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figs.

52 us. Cl 2 197 [51] Int. Cl..... A42b 1/02, A42b H04 [50] Field of Search 2/192, 194, 195,197,198, 196, 201, 174, 209.1, 200, 172

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,670,972 5/1928 Martz 2/172 2,038,398 4/1936 Wengen 2/201 2,948,900 8/1960 Ebenstein 2/209.l

3,187,345 6/l965 Holford 2/192 X FOREIGN PATENTS 508,767 7/l939 England 2/174 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Attorney-Fetherstonhaugh and Co.

ABSTRACT: A toque-type cap that is made substantially from a nonstretch material as distinct from a stretch rib-knit material. The cap has main panels that are of a nonstretch material but strips of stretch material are interposed between them to give the cap the characteristic of fitting all size heads. The main panels and the stretch strips are separately formed, sewn together in a tubelike construction, turned inside out to locate the sewing seams on the inside and closed to form a hat. The hat has the advantage of snugly fitting all size heads as a result of the action of the stretch strips, but also the advantage of being waterproof as a result of the nonstretch characteristic of the main panels.

PATENTED SEP nan SHEET 1 UP 2 INV/iN'l 11R. JOSEPH KRYSTAL flflazl /fa ATTORN EYS PATENIED SEP mm SHEET 2 OF 2 FIG. 5

M mm n M V S R TM a N W R a m OXA J CAP FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the manufacture of caps and is particularly concerned with a toque-type cap primarily intended for use by skiers and skaters or other winter sportsmen, but

i which could be used for other purposes as well.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART As is well known, the traditional toque is a knitted stocking cap that is tapered and closed at both ends, whereby one end may be-folded into the other to form a cap. The toque has been in' use for many years because it is inexpensive, easily carried about ones person when not on the head and, being a knitted garment, it readily adapts to the size and shape of the head of the wearer. One size toque fits all head sizes.

The toque has always been aknitted garment. No one has been able to make a toque-type cap having the inherent feature of being adaptable to any head size from a substantially nonstretch type of fabric prior to this invention. Nonstretch fabrics have, in many cases, advantages over knit-type fabrics for caps. They are usually more wind resistant; they can be more attractive from a finish and color point of view; they can be lighter in weight and less in bulk; they can be less costly. While they have these and other advantages over a stretchable knit-type fabric, they have the disadvantage that, when they are made into a cap, the cap must be manufactured according to size of the head of the person for which it is intended. This creates stock-keeping problems for the retailer selling the caps and sizing problems for the users.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a toque-type cap that is inexpensive, simply stored about ones person when not in use, and which readily adapts to the size and shape of the head of the wearer but which is made substantially from a substantially nonstretch material.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a cap which comprises a plurality of panels of substantially nonstretch material sewn together lengthwise and intermittently with stretch strips of knitted or other transversely stretchable material. The stretch strips give the cap sufficient stretchability to retain the traditional toque characteristic of ready adaptability to the size and shape of the head of the wearer but as the major proportion of the material used in the cap is formed of substantially nonstretch material, the cap as a whole has the desirable characteristics of caps made of nonstretch material with the equally traditional characteristic all-size feature of the toque.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, which show this preferred embodiment of the invention and its method of manufacture,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of two of the panels used in making a cap in accordance with the invention, there being at least three and normally four of each of the illustrated panels in a cap;

FIG. 2 is a broken-away view showing the manner in which the panels are sewn together;

FIG. 3 shows the form of the cap when all of the panels have been sewn together to create a tapered tube;

FIG. 4 shows the tube of FIG. 3 being turned inside out;

FIG. 5 shows the final form of the cap when atassel has been fixed to theend which is left open to a degree sufficient to permit the tube of FIG. 3 to be turned inside out;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cap as it is being worn in a first configuration; and

FIG. 7 is a view of the cap as it is being worn in a second configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 illustrates a panel 10 made from a substantially nonstretch material and a stretch strip 12 made from a material that is stretchable transversely of its length. In the embodiment of the invention shown, a cap is constructed from four main panels 10 and from stretch strips 12.

The first step in the construction is illustrated in FIG. 2. The longitudinal edges of the main panels and stretch strips are sewn together to form two half-tubular structures. These two half-tubular structures are then sewn together, as shown in FIG. 3, to form a tapered tubular structure with all sewing seams on the outside.

It will be noted that the stretch strips are pointed at one end and that the tubular structure of FIG. 3 is closed at the end where the pointed ends of the stretch strips are located. The other end of the tubular structure is open. The next step in the construction of the cap is to turn the tapered tubular structure inside out by pulling the closed end through the open end, as indicated in FIG. 4. This locates all sewing seams on the inside and renders them invisible. The final step in the construction is to close the open end of the tubular construction by stitching and to attach a tassel 14 to cover the opening end, as shown in FIG. 5.

The nontasseled end is then folded inwardly to form the inside or lining of the hat and it can be worn as indicated in FIG. 6. Preferably, the edge is doubled over, as shown in FIG. 7.

It will be noted that the side edges of the main panels 10 are undulating and that they extend inwardly on each side of the midpoint of each edge. These inward extensions are intended to be at the edge of the cap when it is doubled over, asshown in FIG. 7, for the purpose of giving a little extra tightness at the edge.

The panels 10 are substantially nonstretch, but the panels 12 have substantial lateral stretch so that the headband of the cap can be stretched to fit all size heads and to snugly adhere to the wearer. The result is a hat having the all-sizing advantages of a rib-knit toque but that is made from a substantially nonstretch material.

A preferred material for the main panels 10 is a composite material formed of an outer layer of nylon cloth, a middle layer of a foam plastic, and an inner layer of muslin. The layers are fixed together by quilt stitching. The outer nylon layer gives to the cap as a whole the desired quality of shedding frost and snow while the foam provides insulation so that the cap provides its wearer with the same, if not more, warmth than the traditional knitted wool toque. The muslin is for the purpose of preventing the plastic from sticking to the machine in the quilting operation. This is a known type of quilted fabric.

As previously stated, the stretch strips 12 are formed of material which is stretchable transverse to the length of the panels. This is an essential feature of the invention, as these stretch strips provide sufficient stretchability in the cap as a whole that it is adapted to snugly fit the head of any wearer. Stretch strips 12 may be formed of material which is also stretchable lengthwise, but this is not essential. A preferred material for stretch strips 12 is knitted wool which is ribbed lengthwise but any material which is stretchable in at least one direction and which is otherwise suitable for cap manufacture may be used.

The fabric of the panels 10 can be any substantially nonstretch fabric used in cap construction. By the term substantially nonstretch" is mean't a fabric that does not have enough stretch to permit the cap to adapt itself to any head size. Many fabrics suitable for making caps have a certain amount of stretchability, but not enough to permit the cap to fit all heads. It is intended that these fabrics should be included within the scope of a substantially nonstretch fabric."

The transverse stretchability of the four stretch strips is preferably about 4 inches. Most standard wool rib knits have a stretchability that permits them to be extended to twice their normal dimension in a direction transversely of the ribs. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the stretch strips have a width of about 1% inches. One-eighth of an inch of this width is taken up by the sewing of the strips to their respective panels, so that in the finished cap there is about inch of each stretch strip that can be extended, with the result that the headband of the cap can be easily increased 4 inches from its normal size. A 4-inch adjustment covers most head sizes.

While a stretchability of 4 inches is desirable, a useful cap may well be made with a stretchability of less. Moreover, there is no objection to increasing the stretchability beyond 4 inches by including a wider, or more stretch strips. The essential feature is that the stretch strips together be adapted to permit the cap to snugly fit the head of the wearer and to impart a sizing characteristic to the cap not possible from the main panel material, and that the panels between which the stretch strips are sewn be of a substantially nonstretch material.

It will also be understood that it would be possible to form two caps from the tube of FIG. 5 by cutting the tube in half transversely and then trimming the cut edges. To do this would produce caps which do not have the traditional folded back stocking form of toque but the caps would have the two most desired features of the preferred embodiment of the invention, namely, stretchability and resistance to frost and snow.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A toque-type cap, said cap having an elongated substantially oval shape and a tubular cross section and comprising: at least four main panels of substantially nonstretch material, each of said panels extending the full length of said toque-type cap and being pointed at its ends, a like number of stretch strips stretchable transversely of their lengths and each extending the full length of the toque-type cap, the longitudinal edges of the panels and the strips being alternately secured together to form the elongated oval shape of the cap wherein the strips approach each other near the ends of the panels, said stretch strips having a width that is substantially less than the width of said main panels intermediate their ends, and said stretch strips having a combined transverse stretchability to adapt the cap to snugly fit the head of the wearer 

1. A toque-type cap, said cap having an elongated substantially oval shape and a tubular cross section and comprising: at least four main panels of substantially nonstretch material, each of said panels extending the full length of said toque-type cap and being pointed at its ends, a like number of stretch strips stretchable transversely of their lengths and each extending the full length of the toque-type cap, the longitudinal edges of the panels and the strips being alternately secured together to form the elongated oval shape of the cap wherein the strips approach each other near the ends of the panels, said stretch strips having a width that is substantially less than the width of said main panels intermediate their ends, and said stretch strips having a combined transverse stretchability to adapt the cap to snugly fit the head of the wearer. 